IFFI Masterclass | Advancing Operations in Food

Thursday, 12 November

Landgoed Bergvliet

12:00 – 13:00 hrs
Registration & lunch

Opening by Halbe Vogel, IFFI
13:10 – 13:20 hrs

Welcome and introduction by Jan ten Have, Döhler
13:20 – 13:50 hrs

‘Advancing Operations’, by Jan ten Have, Döhler
13:50 – 14:30 hrs

Break and travel to Döhler
14:30 – 15:15 hrs

Company tour Döhler
15:15 – 15:45 hrs

Break and travel back to Landgoed Bergvliet
15:45 – 16:15 hrs

15:45 – 16:15 hrs

‘Closing the skill gap’ by Maarten Vrolijk, FrieslandCampina

16:15 – 16:45 hrs

’Staff Deployment’ by Jan ten Have, Döhler

16:45 – 17:00 hrs
Wrap up

17:00 – 18:00 hrs
Pre-dinner drinks

18:00- 19:30 hrs
Dinner

19:30 – 20:30 hrs

‘Cyber Attack in Food’ by Alex Kruiter and Richard Elsinga, Royal Smilde

20:30 hrs
Wrap up and closing by Halbe Vogel, IFFI

Friday, 13 November
Venue: Landgoed Bergvliet, Oosterhout

09:00 – 09:10 hrs
Opening by Halbe Vogel, IFFI

09:10 – 09:45 hrs
‘Next-Gen Maintenance’ by Remco Jonker, Mainnovation

09:45 – 10:30 hrs
Plenary & break-out sessions

10:30 – 11:00 hrs
Break

11:00 – 11:30 hrs
’Navigating the PPWR, Achieving Compliance’ by John Brahim, Master Sustainability

11:30 – 12:15 hrs
Plenary & break-out sessions

12:15 – 13:00 hrs
Closing by Halbe Vogel, IFFI and lunch

Remco Jonker – Partner, Mainnovation

Remco Jonker is Partner at Mainnovation, a global consultancy specializing in maintenance and asset management for asset-intensive industries, including the food and beverage sector. With over 25 years of experience, Mainnovation helps companies improve performance through its VDMXL methodology, aligning operational excellence with business value. Remco combines hands-on consulting with training and international projects, and is co-author of the VDMXL book series. He has worked with leading companies such as Cargill, FrieslandCampina, and ASML, helping organizations create a common language for maintenance and asset management across global operations.

Jan ten Have – Head of Supply Chain & Operations, Doehler

Jan ten Have is an experienced operations executive currently serving as the Regional Head of Supply Chain & Operations (Europe & MEA) and Global Head of Plant-Based Supply Chain at the Döhler Group. With a strong background in managing complex global supply chains, he oversees logistics, operations, and digital transformation initiatives across multiple continents. Jan specializes in plant optimization, capacity planning, and implementing advanced digital technologies to drive efficiency in food and beverage manufacturing.

Maarten Vrolijk – Manufacturing Director, FrieslandCampina

Alex Kruiter – Managing Director, Smilde Bakery

Alex Kruiter serves as the strategic Managing Director at Royal Smilde Bakery.He commands a wealth of experience in the international food manufacturing industry, accumulated over a long-standing career within the overarching Smilde group. Prior to spearheading the bakery division, he championed commercial development, R&D, and innovation frameworks as Commercial Director at Smilde Foods. Alex is recognized for his market-driven perspective, focusing intensely on business growth, capturing consumer trends, and integrating strategic acquisitions, such as pastry manufacturer De Maro. He completed his executive education at the EFMI Business School.

Richard Elsinga – ICT Manager, Royal Smilde

Richard Elsinga operates as the proactive ICT Manager at Royal Smilde.He holds key responsibility for anchoring the group’s digital architecture, ensuring robust data exchange across multiple business units and European factory locations. Richard heavily emphasizes the value of operational stability, recently driving large-scale infrastructure overhauls, such as standardizing the company’s enterprise platform with JD Edwards & RF-SMART. Beyond day-to-day IT management, he stands out as an advocate for corporate cybersecurity resilience. He famously guided the organization through critical crisis responses, implementing rigorous multi-factor authentication (MFA) protocols and comprehensive business continuity frameworks to safeguard enterprise data.

John Brahim – Founder & CEO, Maistering

John Brahim is Founder & CEO of Maistering, the company behind MasterSustainability.today. With extensive experience in artificial intelligence, information technology and digital transformation, he focuses on helping organisations translate sustainability and regulatory requirements into practical business processes. His work connects supply chain collaboration, data management and automation, enabling companies to organise compliance across their operations, suppliers and products.

‘Next Gen Maintenance’ – Remco Jonker, Mainnovation

This session provides a broader perspective on how modern maintenance and asset management can contribute to operational excellence in the food ingredients industry. Participants will explore the transition from traditional maintenance approaches to data-driven and predictive strategies that support higher asset reliability, increased uptime, improved overall equipment effectiveness, and more efficient use of resources.
The session will address how technologies such as predictive modelling, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality are transforming maintenance practices, workforce capabilities, and decision-making processes. Practical examples and industry insights will illustrate how companies can reduce unplanned downtime, optimize maintenance planning, and strengthen long-term asset performance.

Led by Remco Jonker (Mainnovation), the session combines strategic insights with practical applications and highlights the latest developments in maintenance and asset management relevant to food manufacturing operations.

‘Staff Deployment’ by Jan ten Have, Doehler & ‘Closing the skill gap’ by Maarten Vrolijk, FrieslandCampina

This session focuses on one of the most critical operational challenges facing the food ingredients industry: maintaining performance and continuity in an environment with a structural shortage of skilled personnel. As experienced operators, technicians, and specialists become increasingly difficult to recruit and retain, organizations must rethink how they organize work, develop talent, and safeguard operational knowledge.

Participants will explore practical strategies for workforce development, knowledge management, and organizational resilience. The session will examine how companies can capture and transfer critical expertise, accelerate onboarding and training, support employees through digital tools, and create more flexible and future-ready operations. The role of AI-enabled support systems in assisting operators, maintenance teams, and decision-makers will also be discussed.

Jan ten Have (Döhler) and Maarten Vrolijk (FrieslandCampina) will share real-life experiences from their organizations, including lessons learned in addressing workforce shortages, strengthening operational capabilities, and preparing operations for the future. The session combines strategic insights with practical examples that participants can apply within their own operational environment.

‘Cyber Attack in Food’ by Alex Kruiter and Richard Elsinga, Royal Smilde

What happens when a cyberattack suddenly disrupts a food manufacturing company? In this session, Alex Kruiter and Richard Elsinga of Royal Smilde share their first-hand experience of a cyber incident and its impact on the organization.

They will take participants through what happened and how the attack affected the company’s operations from different perspectives. Beyond the immediate IT challenges, they will discuss the consequences for day-to-day business and management, as well as the human side of a cyberattack: how do employees respond when familiar systems and processes are suddenly unavailable, and what does such an incident mean for the people within an organization?

Drawing on their own experience, Kruiter and Elsinga offer an inside look at the impact of a cyberattack on an entire organization and share the lessons they took away from the incident.

PPWR in Food Ingredients: Managing Compliance, Complexity and Cost – John Brahim, Founder & CEO, Maistering | MasterSustainability.today

For food ingredient producers, packaging decisions connect product protection, food safety, logistics and production performance. PPWR adds new requirements to these decisions, raising an important operational question: how do you manage compliance across suppliers, packaging formats and production sites with limited time and resources?

John Brahim explores how companies can translate PPWR and the connected EPR duties into a practical operational approach. The session connects regulatory requirements with choices on your packaging mix, supplier collaboration and internal responsibilities.

Where can packaging standardisation reduce complexity? What information should suppliers provide, and how can companies maintain reliable evidence as packaging changes? How can digitalisation help teams manage these tasks and avoid a formidable administrative burden?

Combining practical examples with discussion, this session helps participants identify immediate priorities and build a structured approach to packaging compliance that supports their wider operational goals.

Company visit – Doehler Oosterhout

The second day of the masterclass features also an exclusive visit to Doehler, offering participants a unique opportunity to experience operational excellence in practice. During the visit, participants will gain insight into the host company’s production environment, operational organization, and improvement initiatives, and will engage directly with the company’s operations executives and specialists.

Building on the themes discussed during the first day, the session is designed to stimulate reflection, peer-to-peer exchange, and practical application. The company visit creates an interactive learning environment in which theory, real-life operations, and professional dialogue come together, enabling participants to leave the masterclass with concrete ideas and actions that can be applied within their own organization.

This masterclass is designed for executives, managers, and professionals working in Operations within the food ingredients industry, including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Maintenance, Quality, Technology, Engineering, and Continuous Improvement. It is intended for employees of both IFFI-affiliated companies and non-affiliated food ingredient manufacturers who are involved in improving operational performance. Participants will have the opportunity to exchange insights, experiences, and best practices on advanced operations in the food ingredients industry.

The IFFI Operations Committee, whose members all work in operations within the food ingredients industry, has ensured that the programme’s themes reflect the industry’s needs. This makes the programme timely and relevant for IFFI member companies.

Questions regarding this meeting? Contact Marita Mantle-Kloosterboer via marita@iffi.nu.

Landgoed Bergvliet

Salesdreef 2
4847 NA Oosterhout